Is Gary Sanchez the new Mickey Mantle?
Kinda.
“After Mickey Mantle passed away in 1995, Topps wanted to honor one of baseball’s greatest players, so they decided to include him in the 1996 flagship set under card Number 7, his jersey number,” Topps Brand Manager Kevin Eger explained. “Since then, card Number 7 had either been Mantle or no one, which meant a gap in the checklist for the years we didn’t have an agreement with his estate.”
Until now.
When the 2017 set hit the shelves February 1, it came complete with a new face gracing card Number 7. You guessed it…New York Yankees catching phenom Gary Sanchez.
“Baseball fans are witnessing a great time in baseball right now with an impressive young group of players; we felt it was time to offer card Number 7 to a young, emerging star, but we still wanted it to be a New York Yankee,” Eger continued. “Gary Sanchez is part of the re-emergence for the Yankees, helping to bring that certain mystique back to the team. He felt like a natural fit for card Number 7.”
Much like Mantle did decades ago, Sanchez heads into 2017 poised to become the next great Yankees breakout star. Last season, in just 53 games, dude finished with a .299 batting average, 20 home runs and 42 RBI. Sanchez finished second in the voting for American League Rookie of the Year.
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